Wilde times

Playwright's life subject of play

But when Oscar Wilde's infamous trials concluded, he was in prison for two years of hard labor. After his release, his career was ruined, his reputation thrashed and, within three years, his life was over.

Celebrity trials sure have changed over the past 100 years or so.

Wilde's legal nightmares are the subject of "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde," the season-ending production at Amarillo Little Theatre's Adventure Space.

Though his reputation has been burnished over the past several years, Wilde's private life overshadowed his artistic work for decades, his name tarnished because he was jailed for "gross indecency" - having love affairs with young men.

At a Glance

Who: Amarillo Little Theatre

What: "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde"

Rated: R

When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and April 18-19; 2:30 p.m. April 6

Where: ALT Adventure Space, 2751 Civic Circle

How Much: $12 adults, $10 seniors and students and $6 children Thursdays and Sundays; $15 adults, $13 seniors and students and $9 children Fridays and Saturdays

Information: 355-9991

The play - written by Moises Kaufman, author of the Matthew Shepard play "The Laramie Project" - explores Wilde's trials through what's essentially a theatrical documentary. Kaufman cites newspaper articles, trial transcripts, biographies and the writings of Wilde and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, throughout the play.

"It's very well documented," said Art DeMar, who's making his ALT directorial debut with the play. "In that aspect it's historical, and yet, because of the playwright's ability, you don't sense so much that you're looking at a historical work as much as you are getting a very good look at Oscar Wilde as a person.

"... It's entertaining on a number of levels. There's humor and drama, and it runs the entire gamut between those two," he said.

The play begins in April 1895, with Wilde's first trial, a trial he actually sought by suing the Marquess of Queensberry, Lord Douglas' father, for libel over a calling card on which Queensberry had written "Oscar Wilde: posing sodomite."

Over the course of the trial, Queensberry's defense attorney presented enough evidence of Wilde's love affairs that the court dropped the case. After public pressure, Wilde was arrested, then brought to trial himself later that month.

The trial ended with a hung jury. Charges were brought again, and this time Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years hard labor in prison. An injury he suffered in prison resulted in an infection that caused his death in 1900, three years after his release.

DeMar said he was fascinated by "Gross Indecency" because it brings to light aspects of Wilde's life perhaps unfamiliar to people who know him solely as a playwright and novelist.

"Everybody knows Oscar Wilde, but not many people know about the trials of Oscar Wilde. Because of the depth of the play itself, I was very intrigued with it," he said.

"The play has got a number of facets to it. It's a courtroom drama, it has intimate looks at Oscar Wilde's life and it looks at his abilities not only as a playwright but also as a poet, humorist and an artist," DeMar said. "All of these facets of his personality show up in the production."

Allen Shankles, ALT artistic director, said he doesn't expect the production to be as controversial as the earlier Adventure Space production of "How I Learned to Drive," which dealt with the incestual relationship of a young woman and her uncle.

"The only thing controversial here is the homosexuality. This show is probably the tamest thing we've done over here," Shankles said.

"It's a brilliantly literate piece of work. I don't expect it to be a box-office success, but it's a play that I felt like had to be done from the moment I read it," he said. "The structure, the ingenuity of it - I so wanted it to be part of our season."

The play's lead, David Walsh, said he does expect some controversy, but he's more concerned with giving a balanced portrayal of Wilde.

"He was the stereotype of a gay man, and the challenge is to portray him without him being a Monty Python character," Walsh said.

Walsh leads a cast of 10 men, most of whom play a variety of characters throughout the work. Cast members and their principal roles include Don Shipman as Lord Queensberry, Mark Robertson-Baker as Wilde's attorney Clarke, David Keller as Crown attorney Carson, William Crenshaw as Crown attorney Gil and Jason Crespin as Lord Alfred Douglas. David D. McKnight Jr., Patrick Andrews, Rusty Robinson and Kevin Fuller serve as narrators.

Wilde, of course, is the focus, DeMar said.

"The play gets into the impact on Wilde of the trial but does not attempt to get into any impact culturally," he said. "We do see the changes in Wilde as a person over the course of the trials and how they frankly destroyed him.

"That, I think, is part of the excitement of the production. The playwright has allowed the audience to see Wilde as a person and is willing to let the audience draw their own conclusions."